MIAMI (Jan. 8, 2014) – The FIU swimming and diving team improved to a perfect 7-0 in dual meets this season by knocking off TCU (212-88) and Central Connecticut State (239-61) on Thursday afternoon at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center.
"Today was one the best 'team days' we have had this session," said Head Coach
Randy Horner. "We had lots of swims that were best dual meet times. To do that at the end of our winter training, I'm impressed!"
The Panthers were led by freshman
Silvia Scalia, who earned an impressive three individual victories to help pace FIU. The Italy native was dominant in the backstroke events, earning the 100 (56.04) and 200 (2:01.02) back titles. Scalia also earned a victory in the 200 IM event, posting a time of 2:07.49.
Also earning two individual victories on the day was senior
Johanna Gustafsdottir, who clocked a mark of 5:04.64 in the 500 freestyle. Gustafsdottir was also a winner in the 200 freestyle, earning a time of 1:53.58. The Iceland native also was part of FIU's 400 freestlye relay team that earned a first place finish in the meet. Joining Gustafsdottir was sophomore
Jenifer Deist, freshman
Paulina Zelazna and senior
Klara Anderson. The four put together a time of 3:33.21 to earn the first place finish.
In the 1000 freestyle, the Panthers had a one-two finish as freshman
Skye Carey earned a mark of 10:30.90 to earn the title. Senior Courtnye VanderSchaaf earned a mark of 10:31.10 in the event to finish right behind Carey for second place. Freshman Brittany Fant was also a winner on the day, earning the crown in the 200 butterfly, earning a time of 2:05.92. Sophomore
Jennifer Deist was a winner in the 100 freestyle, as she clocked in at 52.49 seconds.
FIU welcomed its newest member of the team, Letizia Bertelli, a native of Italy. She swam the 100 butterfly in 57.38 seconds to earn a first place finish.
In the diving events, sophomore
Lily Kaufmann picked up a victory in the 1-meter dive, posting a score of 235.80. Freshman
Rebecca Quesnel earned the 3-meter title, earning a score of 274.13.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSwimDive) and become a fan on Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSwimmingAndDiving) for all the latest Swimming and Diving news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu
